Roddy Piper was officially announced as being let go tonight after the conclusion of the taped Smackdown show where he did the job for Eddy Guerrero in a tag match.

WWE claimed that since Piper had not signed his new contract, which would have run through August, and "to assist Piper from engaging in any self destructive behavior," they have ceased doing business with him.

This came as no surprise, as it would have been impossible for Piper to co-exist in the locker room after his appearance on the HBO special.

But to the general public, once again, the WWE comes off looking worse than ever.

Since March 31, 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (“WWE”) and Roderick Toombs, p/k/a “Roddy Piper”, have attempted to negotiate the terms of an arrangement for Roddy to appear on WWE programming through August of this year. The parties have been unable to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

On Tuesday, June 24, Piper appeared on an HBO program and revealed disturbing facts about his own personal drug use. Piper stated that he used drugs for many years while working in professional wrestling and that he does not like the person that he becomes when he actively performs as a professional wrestler.

In view of WWE’s inability to reach agreement on a contract and to assist Piper from engaging in any self destructive behavior, the WWE is ending any further discussion with Piper regarding a contract.

The WWE sincerely hopes for Piper and his family that Roddy can find happiness.

Those Piper promos for Calgary are so old school; all it needed was the bluescreen background.

I wonder when HBO started production on this segment. If Piper shot this back in March or something, then he must feel like quite the fool.

Over 1500 posts and still never a Wiener of the Day!

Oliva: You are the weakest link! Goodbye!

Stewie: Ahahaha. Oh God, that's funny. That's really funny. You write your own material? Do you? Because that is so fresh. 'You are the weakest link. Goodbye!' You know I've never heard anyone make that joke before. You're the first. I've never heard anyone reference that outside program before. Because that's what she says on the show, right? Hmmm? 'You are the weakest link. Goodbye!' And ye...ye..yet you've taken it and....and used it out of context to insult me in this everyday situation. What a clever, smart girl you must be. To come up with a joke like that all by yourself. Mmmmm...that's so fresh too. Any Titanic jokes you want to throw at me as long as we're hitting these phenomena at the height of their popularity. Mmmm? Cuz i'm here God you're so funny!

It's about time Piper's double-talk came back around to bite him in the ass. He's been bad-mouthing McMahon for years, even recently with that TNA appearance just before he hit the WWE.

Don't diss your boss on television, especially in such a high profile situation. Duh.

- Sam

(edited by SamRulezTheWorld on 26.6.03 2318)

Vince McMahon, and even the people at TNA (supposedly not Russo) knew what they were getting when they hired him. Piper knew that, when he signed with McMahon that he was pretty much going to do whatever the hell he wanted, and he did.

Piper's actions (working for WWE) did seem to contradict his words, if you could understand them, but I don't think this bit him in the ass at all. He was doing what he has always done, being a loudmouth ass. And thank God for that.

"If you're asking if I would ever date a wrestler, certainly I would. However it wouldn't be good business for me to get romantically involved with anyone in any aspect of our business." -Stephanie McMahon (Off the Record, June 3rd, 1999)

From what I could tell, Piper was just telling the truth. A truth that is probably very real to some on the WWE roster as well. So WWE let him go because he admitted that drugs are a part of wrestling. They would have looked like the WWE knows about the drug use and lets it go on unchecked. Of course they can't let that be publice knowledge, so they let go of Piper and pretend that he is the only one doing drugs.

January 4th 1999 - The day WCW injected itself with 10 gallons of Liquid Anthrax...AKA...The day Hogan "Defeated" Nash to win the WCW title in front of 40,000.

Ugh... go figure. I was just getting in Piper's work again (and I didn't expect to when he returned at Mania) and then this happens.Everyone here is right, though. He ran his mouth off in his book, on television, in TNA, and he actually expected there to be no problems going forward? Did he expect to KEEP his job? And now,what recourse does Piper have to state his case? It's not long he can go on mainstream television and say he was wrongfully dismissed... and I doubt even TNA would take him back.I think, in time, this will be to the WWE's benefit. He was the proverbial loose cannon who had slightly more than a cameo appearance on SmackDown this year. He helped O'Haire get a bit of TV time, and had some funny exchanges with Hogan, McMahon and even Jericho.That said, Vince is probably glad to be rid of the headaches. And unlike what (I think) Meltzer said, its not gonna bode badly for the WWE at all, because everyone will forget about this over time.The only regret I have -- I was REALLY hoping they'd put a Piper DVD out at one point. Guess I can kiss the chances of that happening goodbye....

Well, good job, WWE! It took you guys three months to come to your senses, but let's see how much damage Piper's presence has caused in three months. After the stunt he pulled with TNA, you'd think that ANYBODY with any kind of sense would have seen the danger in hiring a self-contradictory, babbling idiot like Piper, but not Nostalgic Vince McMahon.

So after he basically bad-mouthed the product through endless rants and shows how dangerous he is with a live mic by nearing turning TNA upside-down (in a BAD way), Vince McMahon actually HIRES Piper and proceeds to give him precious TV time that included one of the worst PPV matches in recent memory. And now WWE is actually SHOCKED that Piper would pull something like his HBO interview. REALITY CHECK! Roddy Piper plus a live mic equals danger! The fact that Piper ran his mouth off AGAIN shouldn't come as a shock to ANYBODY, but I guess it did to the higher-ups at WWE. Oh, but what do we all know? We're just stupid kids on our parents' computer, right?

But worst of all, Vince McMahon willingly sacrificed one of the biggest sure-fire, can't-miss characters to get RODDY FREAKING PIPER over!

Sean O'Haire could have been one of the coolest characters in wrestling today. The vignettes intrigued fans to no end. People were legitimately curious. The character had limitless potential and possibilities. Whether he came in as a face or a heel, it didn't matter--people just wanted to see what he would do. Everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for O'Haire to debut. So what does Vince McMahon and the alleged "creative" team do? They flush it all down the toilet and turn him into a second banana for an ungrateful, selfish old fart who never should have been re-hired in the first place!

Guess this means O'Haire will need to be repackaged AGAIN, doesn't it? Hey Sean, enjoy the next few weeks off and dream of what could have been. WWE revisionist history could try and dust off the past few months, brush them off like they never happened, and try to resurrect the Devil's Advocate character through hell or high water, but it could very well be too late. The original aura and intrigue can't be duplicated. WWE blew their load. They can either try (and fail) to re-capture the magic or they can wait for another old fart to come along and make O'Haire HIS second banana.

Hope you got a big rush from your nostalgia trip, Vince. But in the end, was it really worth it?

Rant over.

And Mr. Piper: Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

(edited by It's False on 26.6.03 2152)

What is Mattitude?

Utilizing the belief system and work ethic (Mattributes) of THE Matt Hardy to create a better life for yourself by fulfilling your goals and dreams. Mattitude is a quality that can help anyone -- regardless of background or past -- to achieve success. You just have to make it a lifestyle, a mindset, a religion. Mattitude, is something that can not be taught or learned. Mattitude is something that burns within. In the ring, Mattitude is the intangible, the x-factor, that gives me an advantage over everyone else.